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9
We had a poster, and a paragraph and that was it."
That paragraph formed the movie synopsis that was
judged by the public as the best of the bunch, so
Traces Of Nuts were handed $100,000 and told to
get on with it. And they did, all within that very limited
budget.
How To Meet Girls From A Distance follows the story
of Toby (played by Richard), a cute but damaged man
who likes to conduct 'research' on girls he takes a
fancy to. Read: he stalks ladies. He's having sessions
with a relationship therapist, Carl (Jonathan Brugh),
whose strength of sincerity is equal only to the depth
of his tan. Toby's nice, unassuming mum is paying for
these sessions, and his best friend is also trying to get
him to come out of his shell.
It's a funny, well-written dramedy that's situational as
well as character-driven, with enough quirk to keep it
interesting but plenty of exposure to universal truths
so it's not too esoteric. After all, stalkers don't usually
engender that much empathy from an audience.
The character of Toby was written for Richard, and he
jokes that it was entirely selfish -- "I hoping to create a
vehicle for myself, really" -- but the interplay between
his comedic performance and the dialogue is some-
thing that he and co-writer Dean Hewison established
long ago, Ruth explains.
"That comedy, that kind of bumbling everyman thing,
where stuff kind of happens to him and he does what
our production manager calls the 'double-take' look,
that's what we reckon is his signature look, that's
something that Richard and Dean have worked out
over time from working together."
Taking the film from inception to release was a crew of
more than 200 people, including 120 extras.
"People suggested doing stuff like crowd-funding,"
says Ruth, "but because we were trying to keep the
timeline within a kind of 48-Hour feel and speed, it
was kind of put your energy into trying to get more
funding or put your energy into the project. We got a
lot of people to help, and got sponsorship, and got a
lot of time and resources from people."
For me, this is the key factor in the short history of
HTMGFAD: the project was a true community endea-
vour. A great team assembled, a wonderful thing was
produced, and so many people can be happy with
what they contributed to. There are few feelings that
come close to the warm-fuzziness of having been part
of a well-oiled machine -- especially one whose fruits
so many people have received with such positivity.
A mere six months after beginning -- a crazily speedy
process given their relative newbieness -- the movie
was birthed, straight into the loving arms of the NZ
Film Festival. And audiences sure did love it; HTMG-
FAD sold out its screenings and reviews have been
overwhelmingly positive.
Last week the movie opened in cinemas as part of
a relatively small general release. Only 14 theatres
country-wide will show this wee gem, including five
in Auckland, but it's a strategy, not just a cost-cutting
measure. As executive producer Ant Timpson puts it,
"There is nothing more damaging to a small indie [film]
than going out too wide and putting everything into
the first weekend."
You can expect to see HTMGFAD in smaller theatres
because there's less chance of empty seats and high-
er likelihood of crowd synergy, Timpson explains.
Richard Falkner and Ruth Korver pose in Albert
Park.